Disclaimer: I don't own harry potter, just borrowing the characters…
Hermione woke with a large yawn and a warm around wrapped around her midriff. Once again, it took her a moment to realize where she was. Then it all came rushing back to her She had just had sex with Severus Snape Jr. She had just had sex. In the owlery.
'Oh my god! What if someone walks in?'
"Severus! Wake up!" she said urgently.
He was stirring slightly, but not fast enough. Feeling daring, she moved her hand south.
"And I'm awake," he said, smiling at her.
Hermione smiled briefly before putting in place her serious tone. "Do you know what time it is?"
He looked at his watch. "6:45," he told her.
"Breakfast starts in forty-five minutes! Teachers will already be awake! They can't see me wandering the halls in my pajamas at this hour! Especially coming out of the owlery this early in the morning, with a boy! A student!"
She looked at him. "Can I actually get fired for … having relations with a student?"
He rubbed her arm gently. "I seriously doubt it."
Hermione forced herself to stand up, finding her clothes and throwing them on. "If I knew how to apparate I would really hate the "no apparating rule at Hogwarts"," she told him.
He held out his invisibility cloak to her. "Here, you can use this to get back to your room."
She smiled gratefully at him. "By the way, where'd you get this?"
"Um, my father gave it to me, when I got here," he told her.
"Oh," she said. "Do you know where he went?"
Snape shook his head. "Knowing my father, he probably won't have gone far."
Hermione smiled again. "Probably."
Once she had all her clothes in order, with her wand in her pocket, she turned back to Severus Jr. "It was…"
"Amazing," he finished for her.
"Yeah," she said, embracing him quickly before she turned to leave.
"When can I see you again?" he asked.
Hermione stopped briefly. "Tonight. Same time, same place."
With that, she rushed down the steps of the tower, under the veil of invisibility. By the time she got back to her chambers, it was five minutes past seven. Throwing her clothes haphazardly into a heap, she jumped into the shower.
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Snape walked into the Gryffindor common room, heading for his dorm.
"Are you just getting in now?" Harry asked him.
"Yeah," he said, not looking up.
Ron stood in front of him. "Where were you all night, then?"
He stared the redhead in the eye. "Out," he said, walking past him.
Harry and Ron watched him go up the steps.
"I really don't like him," Ron told Harry.
"Well, I don't think he's too crazy about you, either, mate," Harry said. "You didn't have to hound him like that, you know?"
Ron shrugged. "I just asked him a question."
Harry shook his head. "Never mind, let's just go get some breakfast."
"Fine," Ron said. "But I still say there's something off about him."
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Owls swarmed the Great Hall, delivering their mail. Hermione herself got several letters; most of them seemed to be from the teaching staff of Hogwarts. Those she would open in her personal chambers later. She was searching for one in particular. Finding the letter from Severus Jr. with very little difficulty, she quickly unrolled the parchment and read:
Dear Hermione,
I trust that you are enjoying your position as Potions teacher. Believe me when I say that my father chose the right witch for the job. The look on your face when you are in front of the class, teaching, is that of pure happiness. You are a bright star, Hermione, shining on the darkest of nights. I've only known you a day, and I can see that.
I wish you well, and hope we can start spending more time together.
Sincerely,
Severus Snape Jr.
Hermione was touched by the letter, especially since he had written it before their … before last night. She scanned the crowd for him, and found him sitting on the left side of the Gryffindor table, beside Harry. Severus Jr. winked at her, and she threw him a warm smile in return.
Then she caught Ron's eye. He looked upset, but she didn't know why. Severus wouldn't have told Ron about…he wouldn't have. He would have no reason. So why was Ron upset?
She saw Harry reading the note she had written to them, and she saw Ron's face brighten. So, that was it, then. He just missed her. Hermione felt relieved, and continued with her breakfast.
Her morning went by fast. Also, surprisingly easy. Hermione was starting to get the hang of this whole teaching thing. She liked it. Before she knew it, lunch had arrived. She briefly confronted Professor Dumbledore (he had asked her to call him Albus, but Hermione found it far too weird), and asked him if it were alright for her to dine with Harry and Ron, and he had graciously given his permission, telling her she needn't even ask.
When she neared the Gryffindor table, Harry and Ron stood to greet her. A few of her fellow Gryffindors stood to shake her hand, making Hermione blush their house colors. She met eyes with Severus Jr. briefly. She offered him a small smile and a wave in greeting, and then sat down beside him, across from Harry and Ron.
"So," Harry asked, "how was your first day as Professor Granger?"
Hermione took a deep breath. "Exhilarating," she began, then for the next ten minutes went on about how thrilling and exciting teaching was, and how she wanted to stay on as Potions instructor if she could.
Snape snuck his hand under the table discretely and clasped hers to calm her down.
She glanced at him briefly, not wanting to give away to Harry and especially Ron that they were holding hands.
"How was your first night in your new rooms?" Ron asked her, looking between Hermione and Snape.
Hermione couldn't meet his eyes. "It was good. I slept like a baby, in fact."
"That's nice," Ron said, forcing a grin. 'There's something going on between them. Hermione's never once looked at me like that,' Ron thought.
"You two seem to be getting along nicely," Ron pointed out.
Hermione instinctively squeezed Snape's hand.
"Hey, kudos for giving Malfoy that essay, Hermione," Harry intervened. "It's about time the Slytherins stopped getting away with everything in Potions." He looked at Snape. "No offence."
Snape smiled. "None taken." He wondered what kind of teacher he had been, for the Gryffindors to loathe him so.
"You know, I just can't get over the fact that Snape has a son," Ron said, locking eyes with him. "What's it like being the son of a spy?"
"Ronald!" Hermione warned.
Snape gave her a soft-eyed gaze that said it was alright. "Well, what's it like not being the son of a spy?"
"What?" Ron asked.
"My point, exactly. It's not "like" anything being his son, because I'm just his son," Snape said convincingly.
Ron shrugged, disappointed. 'Clearly,' Snape thought, 'the boy wanted more of a conflict out of that. Interesting.'
Hermione tried to relax in her seat, but found she couldn't. She hadn't wanted there to be tension between Ron and Severus. She cared about them both. Ron was one her best friends. And Severus…she didn't know what he was to her. But she found herself wanting to find out.
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Hermione was more nervous now than she had been last night. Tonight she knew what was going to happen. She wanted it to happen. She had actually packed a bag. Clean clothes, a blanket, and an alarm clock. That way she could give Severus back his invisibility cloak.
She liked the name Severus. Calling him Jr. made him seem like a child, and he was far from that. She knew him, intimately. She felt like she'd known him much longer than a couple of days…as though she'd known him for years. But that was impossible.
Under the cloak of invisibility, she made her way to the owlery. When she got there, he was waiting for her, and they wasted no time on pleasantries.
